Last Reads of 2012 Goals and My Challenge!



Last Reads of 2012 Readathon kicks off today!  *cue clapping and cheering*

I'm posting some of my #LR2012 Readathon goals AND a challenge for participants!

My goals:

-- reach my Goodreads 2012 goal of 200 books. I'm almost there! I've read 193!

-- get my Goodreads reviews up to date. I'm WAY behind on that.

-- make a dent in my January review books. Because January has a TON of great stuff coming out.


PRIZES!!! As an incentive to me -- and to all our Last Reads participants -- on December 31, I'll let the randomizer pick one of our participants (not me, Eileen, or Patrick) who has also commented on this post and send them their choice of any one of a selection of January 2013 ARCs. 

Open internationally, but if the randomizer picks a winner who lives outside the US or Canada, I'll send them their book of choice from TBD up to $10 US. US/Canada winner can choose this option as well.



My challenge for Last Reads 2012 Readathoners:


We read to be entertained, to escape, to experience new things. But I think that some of the books that really stick with us are those that make us feel.  

Here's my list of the funniest and saddest books I read in 2012.

Funniest:

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead
What can I say? Adrian just cracks me up. Can't wait for Indigo Spell!

Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein
Amy goes through a lot in this book, but her wisecracking also had me laughing.

Drain You by M. Beth Bloom
I know some people read this as a serious book, but to me it was a dark comedy!

Saddest:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
You know this book is going to be sad, but you don't know exactly how.

Yes, I needed the tissues for these two!

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
Again, I knew this one was going to get me...

Book that Made me Laugh AND Cry

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green
This book about friendship, love, and having the courage to be yourself was amazing. I didn't review it but I highly recommend it!!!!

So, if you're participating in the Readathon, tell me about your goals. Whether or not you are participating in the readathon, tell me about the books that made you laugh and cry this year!

Comments

  1. Well I still have 12 books for my goal of 300 so that's the big one (I'm halfway through a book so when I finish that tonight, I will only need 11). I would also like to update my review archive as I'm about a month behind and prep posts for the end of the year.

    Good luck with your goals!

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    1. Wow -- 300 is impressive. This is my first GoodReads goal. I had no idea how many books I read in a year, so I initially set my goal at 100, then had to keep raising it. 200 seems like a manageable number for me.

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  2. I probably don't read too much 'funny' but Dash and Lily's Book of Dares made me laugh.

    The Chaos Walking series definitely made me cry. As well as The Fault in Our Stars. On the Fringe was the first book of the year and I think I cried quite a bit then too. Oh and How to Kill a Rock Star! And Hallowed! Wow, I cried a lot I guess. LOL

    I am going to write up a post later for my goals of the challenge, I think. I have the week after Christmas off so hopefully I will be able to get some things done. :)

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    1. Okay, now I need to fix my post because you just reminded me that Will Grayson, Will Grayson had me cracking up like a lunatic in public.

      Can't wait to see your post!

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  3. Books that made me cry, BETWEEN SHADES OF GREY and ROOM(although that's not YA).

    I can't think of any that made me laugh...maybe because I don't read anything funny? I've always been a bit dramatic.

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    1. Agree that those were two INTENSE books. Not sure I cried, but they were both really sad.

      Try a funny book!

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  4. I wrote a list with my goals for the Read-a-Thon and my answers to the first challenge here.

    I've already completed my Goodreads challenge, but mine was only to read 80. It seems like a joke compared with all of you guys! I'm looking forward to reading some 2013 books and catching up on reviews.

    My saddest book: One Moment by Kristina McBride
    My funniest book: Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan.

    Thanks to all of you guys for hosting this read-a-thon! I'm looking forward to completing some of my goals before the end of the year!

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    1. 80 is a lot!!! The only way I make it to 200 is travel. I hate flying and so I read at least two books on a flight.

      Great sad/funny choices!!

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  5. The Fault in Our Stars made me use an entire box of Kleenex (maybe a *slight* exaggeration, but not much). Such an amazing book. I also laughed, though. I laugh at sarcastic, witty remarks, the way the narrator says things. So I've laughed in nearly all the books I read this year. Not because it's a hilarious storyline (as evident with TFiOS), but because the characters have sense of humors and say things I find amusing. :)

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    1. All the characters in his books are so smart and funny and yet this book was sad too. I felt ALL the emotions in this one!

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  6. The saddest books I read this year were The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Flawed by Kate Avelynn and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

    By far the funniest were the Georgia Nicolson series. I just love those for a quick pick me up type of read.

    Also, I'm currently reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson right now. I did not know it was a tear-jerker! It certainly is funny, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOVE The Sky is Everywhere. It's such a great book.

      And WG WG was one of those "I laughed until I cried" books and then at the end I was tearing up because it was just so... good.

      NO spoilers!

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  7. Made me laugh?
    Hear by Jacqueline Abelson - made me laugh out loud, as did pretty amy!
    Xor: The Shape of Darkness by Moshe Sipper was also really funny
    Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) by Kiersten White - really funny

    Made me cry?
    Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins (the big event in this is heartbreaking!)
    If I Lie by Corrine Jackson - so sad in plces!
    The Host’ by Stephenie Meyer (for the second time)

    I still have loads of books to read before 2013! Going to be a real challenge! Still haven't made it through last weeks new releases! (and still got christmas shopping to do! Yikes!)

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    1. Evie of Paranormalcy is definitely one of my favorite snarky/funny characters!

      I need to read The Host!!!

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    2. You DO need to read The Host! Me, Lauren and Asheley want to re-read it before the movie comes out. maybe we could all do a mini read-a-thon!

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  8. What a fantastic list. I'm not doing the readathon, but I am doing the best of 2012 lists on Dec 24th - Dec 28th.

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  9. Laughed at most: Wallbanger, HILARIOUS! And I know it wasn't a fave of yours but i did giggle quite a bit at Meant To Be.

    Cried: Code Name Verity. THAT scene. You know the one. GAH. Killed me.

    Laugh and Cry: SO MANY! Both Froi and Quintana. The Sky is Everywhere (of course!) The Fault in Our Stars, The Lost Girl, Eleanor and Park, and Just One Day:)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I giggled through Wallbanger too! :)

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    2. What is this Wallbanger?????

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    3. Wallbanger by Alice Clayton.
      It's really good:
      http://nijiclovers.blogspot.com/2012/12/wallbanger-by-alice-clayton.html
      - but it's adult!

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  10. I tear up through almost every book! LOL But the big ones this year were Shade (Prob my biggest cry of the year!), The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (Cried a bit at her dad getting remarried and leaving her), Pandemonium (Alex!), The Immortal Rules (When she thinks she is a monster and Zeke rejects her :-( ), Catching Jordan (When her dad didn't support her football career), My Life in Black and White (When her best friend committed the ultimate girl crime), Level 2 (Not out yet but the end made me sad), Every Day (This entire book made me weep), Pushing The Limits, Survive, Speechless, Lucid, The Lost Girl, My Heart For Yours, When We Collide, White Lines, and even Falling Kingdoms at times!

    Funny books
    Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster.
    That book you helped me download from Edelweiss. I'm glad I accidentally requested it because it was so much fun! Loved it!
    ALSO I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, Losing It, Body & Soul (Ghost and the Goth), Touch

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I forgot that you're the big crier!!!
      Shade was sad -- I agree. Also Every Day.

      Jen Lancaster is hilarious. I read her stuff or David Sedaris when I'm grumpy.

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  11. I'm dying to read Personal Effects. And Will Grayson, Will Grayson made me laugh and cry... but so did TFIOS. God I want to reread TFIOS. Might do the audio.

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    1. You'll have to tell me if the audio is as amazing as WG, WG

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  12. Here is the link to my blog post for this mini-challenge:

    http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.ca/2012/12/last-reads-of-2012-read-thon-jens-mini.html


    My goals for the Read-a-Thon are here:

    http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.com/2012/12/last-reads-of-2012-read-thon-starting.html

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  13. I have to agree that The Golden Lily was one of the funniest I've read this year. Adrian is hysterical. I can't think of any other funny ones I've read. Or sad ones. I think I need to think about it and make myself a list!

    Jesse @ Pretty In Fiction

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    1. Adrian is so hilarious. I'm dying for Indigo Spell.

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  14. I love the Golden Lily. Another funny one are a few passages in the Mortal Instruments (Jace) and The Infernal Devices (Will). The sad one I read was The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks. Sad and Funny, TID, Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan too!

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  15. I read more "funny" books than sad ones, but I read one really really sad one and that was Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz. Even the title is heavy-hearted. The cover too. And the story...*sobs*...but the ending was hopeful. I like books that have (some) hope. :)

    My challenge post is here:
    http://nijiclovers.blogspot.com/2012/12/last-reads-of-2012-readathon-goals-and.html

    I ❤ Will Grayson, Will Grayson too :)
    And The Fault in Our Stars is on my tbr list. But I'm kinda afraid to read it....

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  16. I don't cry while reading a book...ever really, it's not a macho thing, I just don't, even when I read TFiOS. =/ However I can definitely say that was the saddest book I read. As for funny ones I loved An Abundance of Katherines (also by John Green) which had plenty hilarity in it & The Infects by Sean Beaudoin had me laughing throughout the book, so those would be the top ones for me. ^.^

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    1. I find that movies make me cry more easily than books. And it depends on my mood!

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  17. I have some catching up to do and have several books lined up for January too. Best of luck with your goals.

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  18. Off of the top of my head some books that made me laugh: The Blood Coven Vampires series by Mari Mancusi, Croak by Gina Damico, and the Eve Hallows books by Robert Gray. Books that made me cry...well, yesterday I finished reading Reaper by L.S. Murphy and Oh My Gods I was crying my eyeballs out at the end! I like books with emotion but that one was just...it was very depressing for me.

    As for my reading goal...I was thinking 15 books, but maybe I'm gonna have to re-think that....it's a bit too much for only two weeks! lol

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